The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary » Chip Kellyhttp://thebuckeyebattlecry.com
An Ohio State blog for the Buckeye fan in all of us.Tue, 03 Mar 2015 18:26:05 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.0.1Wednesday Night Rumble: Fair is fair?http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/ohio-state-football/wednesday-night-rumble-fair-is-fair.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wednesday-night-rumble-fair-is-fair
http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/ohio-state-football/wednesday-night-rumble-fair-is-fair.html#commentsWed, 03 Jul 2013 20:00:06 +0000http://www.thebuckeyebattlecry.com/?p=34757What can I say, the dead period trudges forward like an Iowa running back in a race against an SEC cornerback. Up in Eugene the penalties on the Oregon Ducks have been levied. Aaron Hernandez is an idiot and his actions have allowed a door to open for a former Buckeye. Meanwhile, over in Youngstown […]

]]>What can I say, the dead period trudges forward like an Iowa running back in a race against an SEC cornerback. Up in Eugene the penalties on the Oregon Ducks have been levied. Aaron Hernandez is an idiot and his actions have allowed a door to open for a former Buckeye. Meanwhile, over in Youngstown the city mourns the loss of a great local business and sportsman. It’s Wednesday, let’s rumble!

Duck hunt

The 27 month investigation into Chip Kelly and Oregon is over. Remember 27 months ago? We were all tied up in the ongoing “tattoo” saga. Jim Tressel was still the head coach at Ohio State, and we all waited to hear what the next turn would be in the debacle that it was.

Jim Tressel and Terrelle Pryor after beating Chip Kelly and the Oregon Ducks in the Rose Bowl

Before we get into the Oregon sanctions, something funny I wanted to talk about regarding the Oregon scandal. On June 1, 2011, a little twitter account called @ScriptOhio posted an innocent comment reporting what it had been told regarding the school (Oregon) to be the next ones put in the NCAA’s gun sights for investigation. The “tweets heard round Twitter” simply read “Remember the “recruiting scandal” that was about to hit Oregon and got buried when the Tressel story broke in March?” followed by “VERY STRONG source tells me that within a week the Oregon story will break and its going to make Ohio State look like “child’s play”.”

These two tweets were the definition of “viral” for someone as small time as myself, as they were both retweeted well over 100x each. I wrote about it then, I’ll summarize it for you right now: A friend went down and visited his very good friend Jim Tressel in mid May before the resignation/firing. Sitting in the coaches office with JT and a few assistants, they were discussing the impending sanctions etc., like guys do when they sit around and shoot the breeze. Tressel then let out that Oregon was next on the block and the assistants in the room all chimed in in agreement that what they were hearing about the Ducks was way worse.

What did they hear? They heard that head coach Chip Kelly was employing “scouting services” and having them steer recruits north to Eugene. Essentially, Kelly was paying a company to do research on players, meet them, pamper them, then get them to commit to Oregon. All of which is very much against NCAA rules. And later in June the story broke.

As the days and months went on the Ducks kept winning and the story got farther and farther out of peoples memory. But, finally, it is all out on the table and the Ducks have been punished… sort of.

The NCAA’s investigation stemmed from a $25,000 payment in 2010 to Will Lyles and his Houston-based recruiting service, Complete Scouting Services. According to an NCAA statement, “The University of Oregon used a recruiting service provider, who became a representative of the university’s athletics interests, to assist the school with the recruitment of multiple prospective student-athletes.” The NCAA also hit the program with a number of recruiting and probationary penalties. A full list of the sanctions is included is listed below:

Public reprimand and censure.

Three years of probation from June 26, 2013 through June 25, 2016.

An 18-month show cause order for the former head coach. The public report contains further details.

A one-year show-cause order for the former assistant director of operations. The public report contains further details.

A reduction of initial football scholarships by one from the maximum allowed (25) during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 academic years (imposed by the university).

A reduction of total football scholarships by one from the maximum allowed (85) during the 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 academic years (imposed by the university).

A reduction of official paid football visits from 56 to 37 for the 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 academic years.

A reduction of permissible football evaluation days from 42 to 36 in the fall of 2013, 2014 and 2015 and permissible football evaluation days from 168 to 144 in the spring of 2014, 2015 and 2016.

A ban on the subscription to recruiting services during the probation period.

A disassociation of the recruiting service provider. Details of the disassociation are included in the public report (imposed by the university).

Big picture, we have the football program paying a very small price for the indiscretions of its head coach. We have a head coach, who is coincidentally now in the NFL as head boss of the Philadelphia Eagles, being given a show-cause (you all remember what this is, right?) for 18 months and falling on the sword for the program.

Chip Kelly at a press conference in Philadelphia

Now, this will shock most of you, but if the violation is truly only one payment to Lyles, and we are supposed to the trust that the investigation did its due diligence and looked in every corner and turned over every stone to make sure it was the only payment, then I find the punishment fair and applaud the NCAA for doing the right thing for once.

Again this all predicates on the finding of only one payment to Lyles. If that is truly the case, why should the current players at Oregon see bowl bans and have massive scholarship reductions ruin their seasons when they literally had nothing to do with it? Weren’t we the ones complaining about the 2012 Buckeyes being punished for actions that they weren’t involved with? I won’t be hypocritical and say that Oregon the football program deserved stiffer punishment when it is in a lot of ways in the same manner the Buckeyes found themselves in this past season.

Chip needs to take a seat

Chip Kelly for me is the problem. An 18 month show-cause is nothing. He’ll be in the NFL for a minimum of 24 months, after which he’ll be free to take the reigns at whatever NCAA institution he so chooses that has a vacancy. And schools will be beating down his door to get him on their sidelines. I don’t care if Kelly goes 0-32 in two seasons in Philadelphia, his model and schemes work on the NCAA level. To that there is no debate. So Chip gets to escape punishment, try his hand in the NFL, and if it doesn’t work out he can head down to the highest bidder in the SEC and start up his “speed kills”offense all over again and likely be successful.

Jim Tressel, after his suspension, with the Indianapolis Colts

This is where you come into play, Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner. Just like the Indianapolis Colts suspended Jim Tressel in fairness to his show-cause penalty and to prove that the NFL wouldn’t be a safe haven for excommunicated college coaches to find work and escape their past misdeeds, you can do the same with Chip Kelly.

Pro Football Talk wrote of the Tressel suspension on September 5th, 2011 “The Colts’ decision to impose the suspension on Tressel helps the league office avoid creating a crystal-clear impression that the NFL has now become an active participant in the enforcement of NCAA rules. Still, the somewhat-less-than-crystal-clear impression remains — the NFL and its teams, in deference to the curators of the league’s free farm system, will erect barriers to the commencement of employment in order to encourage compliance with NCAA rules.”

Ok, Rog, when are you announcing Chip Kelly’s one or two game suspension? What’s the matter, cat got your tongue? You are the guy who likes to be the hammer of justice. So what are you waiting for? Or did Nike owner/CEO, huge Chip Kelly supporter and ruler of all things Oregon, Phil Knight give you a call and ask you to let this one slide under rug?

Quick hitters

By now you’ve probably all heard about former New England Patriot tight end Aaron Hernandez and his being investigated and subsequently arrested on murder charges. The Patriots stepped up and did the right thing (in my opinion) and cut ties with Hernandez by releasing him immediately when the charges were filed. If there is any good news in this disgusting situation, it’s that former Buckeye tight end Jake Ballard will be given a chance to fill Hernandez’s role this fall.

Former Buckeye baseball player now a Cleveland Indian, Nick Swisher had a pretty eventful couple of evenings this past weekend. “Swish” belted the game winning home run in the top of the 9th inning in Chicago against the White Sox on Friday night and then ripped a game winning base hit in the top of the 8th inning on Saturday. Glad to see Swisher is finding his stroke at the plate again!

Also, Swishers “Bro-hio” logo and shirts are starting to be a big hit around Cleveland and especially at the ballpark.

RIP

Youngstown lost one of its native sons and finest ambassadors this past weekend as Carmen Cassese passed away from complications f pancreatic cancer. Most knew “Carm” as the third generation owner of the MVR restaurant on Youngstown State University’s campus and the equipment manager of the Penguins football program for over 20 years. It was there he established his relationship with Jim Tressel and just may have something to do with how I first heard about the Oregon story mentioned above. Carmen treated everyone like family, he never forgot your name and always took time out to sit down with you and ask how you were doing. He was just one of those type of people. He will be missed by his friends and family and everyone who had the opportunity to meet him.

I’ll never forget being at the Cardinal Mooney High School bocce fund raiser at the MVR in 2010 and seeing a table populated by Bob Stoops, Jim Tressel, Bo Pelini, Mark Mangino, Mike Stoops… and Carmen Cassese.

It’s getting closer. We’re under 9 weeks from kickoff!! Everyone have a happy and SAFE 4th of July!! Until next week, Go Bucks!!

Metallica track of the week

Of course we have to go back to Orion 2013. Here’s a fan made multi-cam mix of “Turn the Page”!

Aphrodite of the week

She was great in “Up in the Air”. You also know her from “Scott Pilgrim vs the World”, “50/50″ and “End of Watch”. Your kids know her from “Pitch Perfect” and her small roles in the “Twilight” movies. I won’t lie, I got a little bit of a crush on Anna Kendrick.

]]>http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/ohio-state-football/wednesday-night-rumble-fair-is-fair.html/feed8Silver Bullet Points' Gots Questionshttp://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/ohio-state-football/silver-bullet-points-gots-questions.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=silver-bullet-points-gots-questions
http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/ohio-state-football/silver-bullet-points-gots-questions.html#commentsWed, 17 Apr 2013 11:54:08 +0000http://www.thebuckeyebattlecry.com/?p=33326Lotta stuff rattling around the ol’ brainpan the last couple of days… sometimes it’s good to have a bit of distraction from the harshness of our realities. Here’s the song that’s been stuck in my subconscious… Buckeye 411 Our Long National Nightmare Is Over, Part One- Braxton’s hair is back to normal. Whew. Making Friends […]

Once again we find ourselves here. “Senseless” actions are literally that- we can make no sense of them. And this time, the “distraction” that we usually turn to is the heart of the matter; the refuge of recreation is taken away, and sport is not a sanctuary. A joyous tradition of the simplest competition, running, is a moment of terror.

Courtesy J. Seemann

Monday’s incident in Boston is still, at least at this reflection, unexplained. And once we know the “who” and make guesses as to the “why”, I don’t think we’ll ever have the heart of our confusion and fear answered.

How someone could choose to engage in behavior that impacts innocents is beyond my ability to understand… and yes, for me that means innocents in Boston and New York and Oklahoma City and Tel Aviv and Bahgdad and Kidal and way to many others to mention. And that’s part of the problem.

There are people smarter than me who have wrestled with this question before, the nature of evil. There are whole arenas of philosophy and theology and ethics whose sole purpose is to study and explain and posit as to the foundational question- “Why?”

I was watching the entertaining if not incredibly historically accurate television show “Vikings” on the History Channel on Sunday evening, and saw this question surface several times. As an explanation as to “why is my wife having a child sired by someone else?” and “why are these northmen attacking our city?”, the characters sought to make meaning of it all via whatever explanations fit their understanding. In the last question, three different answers were provided- “Maybe they’re punishment from God for our wickedness”, “Maybe they’re persecution by the devil, because of our righteousness”, “Maybe they’re just greedy and want our gold”. In the show, the final answer ends up being the one that’s correct.

It’s not my intent here to vary from our “don’t talk politics or religion” policy, other than our loyalty to St. Woodrow of Columbus and Urban his servant. Instead, it’s my hope to normalize the questions that we all have when these types of things happen and when we feel jumpy at any and all possible unknown. And, it’s my hope to be able to shift those questions to ones of… well… hope.

On Monday, I also lost a friend following a long bout with cancer. I fly out this weekend for the services and to spend time with an extended family that seemingly on the other side of the world from where I find myself daily. It could be that this is the reason that the Boston incident has hit me the way that it has; I’m struggling a bit with the meaning and frailty of it all. As someone who is allegedly trained to be a crisis responder and a “meaning-maker” in these types of situations, I still find myself confused and lost and flailing about more than I’m comfortable with. And, in that vein, I appreciate you letting me process this a bit as a part of your usual Wednesday randomness.

But one thing I keep coming back to is that the answers that we need to find should not end with our discovering “Why?” Instead, we must find ourselves asking “Now what?” Not that meaning-making is not an important part of the process in these types of situations, but for us to discover meaning from a crisis or tragedy or other requires that we move forward, hopefully changed for the better. While we want to understand the past, we certainly can’t live only there- we must take what we’ve learned and press forward with hope.

It’s Coming…. Duck! The “news” out of Eugene late Monday/Early Tuesday was that documents revealed a little about Oregon’s upcoming conversation in Indianapolis, and (as you can imagine) there’s some discrepancies. Initial reports indicated that both sides had agreed on “major” violations as a part of the Willie Lyles situation; the phrases “failure to monitor” and “repeat violator” were used, although it seems as if Nike U will miss out on the “lack of institutional control” charge. The documents revealed above were a part of the “plea bargin” process that has already been rejected by the NCAA- Oregon had recommended a two year probationary punishment as well as a one scholarship loss over three years. Instead, the NCAA will continue through the full process of hearings and sanctions following these meetings. Former Coach Chip Kelly gave the standard “Sorry, I can’t comment” from his cushy landing spot in Philadelphia… it will be interesting to see if he receives the same sort of “You can’t run from justice” punishment that Jim Tressel and Terelle Pryor were handed from the NCAA.

Headed For Trouble-Helmet maker Ridell was found responsible to the tune of $3 million dollars for injuries suffered by a Colorado high school football player this week. At the heart of the decision was the fact that Ridell did not do enough to warn players of the potential consequences of this contact sport. While many who actually follow football will certainly respond with a rousing “duh”, this situation is one to keep an eye on- as more is found out about the impact of the game (no pun intended) on participants’ gray matter, many see the writing on the wall for the sport’s demise under the weight of litigation compensation.

]]>http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/ohio-state-football/silver-bullet-points-gots-questions.html/feed1Dontre Wilson Is A Buckeye !!!http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/dontre-wilson-is-a-buckeye.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=dontre-wilson-is-a-buckeye
http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/dontre-wilson-is-a-buckeye.html#commentsTue, 05 Feb 2013 03:50:30 +0000http://www.thebuckeyebattlecry.com/?p=31051While National Letter of Intent day is Wednesday, Ohio State received word Monday that Texas athlete Dontre Wilson wasn’t interested in waiting until then, as he verballed to be the latest member of the Buckeyes’ 2013 class. Wilson, a one time Oregon commit, has been in contact with Coach Meyer and the staff for quite […]

While National Letter of Intent day is Wednesday, Ohio State received word Monday that Texas athlete Dontre Wilson wasn’t interested in waiting until then, as he verballed to be the latest member of the Buckeyes’ 2013 class.

Wilson, a one time Oregon commit, has been in contact with Coach Meyer and the staff for quite some time. After Oregon coach Chip Kelly left to flee NCAA sanctions pursue an NFL opportunity with the Eagles, Wilson re-opened his recruiting. Shortly thereafter, he was in Columbus for an official visit where he, in the words of sources from Texas, “fell in love with Ohio State”.

Oregon did not go quietly, however, as their entire coaching staff visited with him following his trip to Columbus. Wilson was also scheduled to have traveled to Stillwater and visit TBPU, but cancelled that trip. Instead, he chose to visit Austin this past weekend, where news of his being a Buckeye lean started to surface. This was the second such “leak” from the Longhorns- they also let it be known that A’Shawn Robinson was headed to Alabama after the star stepped away from his commitment to Texas.

Wilson played at De Soto High School, and was assessed as a four star recruit by most of the national services. He’s a smaller athlete, and is projected to play in the slot at Ohio State, or as it’s being called “the Percy Harvin position”. He makes a great counter punch to Ohio State’s power running game, and may see playing time early on.

He was named the Dallas Area Offensive Player of the Year by the Dallas Morning News following a senior campaign that saw him amass 1,892 yards and 37 touchdowns rushing, while also catching 37 passes for 752 yards and nine TDs as well. You can check out some of his many highlights after the break.

It was a circuitous route to get to Columbus, but we’re certainly glad he’s found his way “home”. Welcome to the Buckeye Family, Mr. Wilson!

]]>http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/dontre-wilson-is-a-buckeye.html/feed9The Day That Were- B1G Stylehttp://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/the-day-that-were-b1g-style.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-day-that-were-b1g-style
http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/the-day-that-were-b1g-style.html#commentsWed, 02 Jan 2013 12:54:19 +0000http://www.thebuckeyebattlecry.com/?p=29506Slight variation in schedule… think of this as TWTW meets Wednesday’s regular SBP. Here’s the tunes behind the guy behind the guy. 2013 started almost the same way that every other year has started since I can remember… with a slate of B1G Ten games, highlighting how many people who live in the midwest want […]

2013 started almost the same way that every other year has started since I can remember… with a slate of B1G Ten games, highlighting how many people who live in the midwest want to flee to warmer climes for some semblance of a vacation. I still haven’t figured out how the scheduling geniuses who have an entire slate of games and “bowl week” to work with decide to run four of them at semi-simultaneous time times, though.

You’ll note that I said “almost”… one of the major differences this year was the lack of Buckeye football; in case you hadn’t heard, they had a one year vacation from the post-season. What’s intriguing about that fact is that we seemingly had it shoved down our throats throughout the regular season by the good folks at the four letter network, and yet I can count on one hand the times I heard the words “Ohio State” or “Buckeyes” thus far in the bowl season. Penn State, too, although you’d think that one of the things that would be covered would be how teams playing got their losses this year; the Rose Bowl’s discussion included the review of their overtime losses, but didn’t mention by name two of the teams that handed those to them.

I guess I shouldn’t be all that surprised, though… you want the games to be celebrations of the teams that are playing, and it’d be a shame to see anything hamper the narrative of next Monday’s “Championship” game; reminding folks of another undefeated team might cast a pall on that sacred moment. However, I don’t seem to remember Southern Cal being erased from the post season even when they were ineligible- their 10-2 record last year was certainly a topic of commentary.

Anywho… Ohio State hasn’t lost a game in over a year, and that can’t be taken away from them or their fans.

So let’s dive into the spectacle that was B1G Tuesday, taking a look at all of the outcomes and then reflecting on what this might “mean” for the conference and college football as a whole. Remember, the results you witnessed might have been different should the two outsider programs be in the mix this season… B1G fans, how are those “you’ve got no bowl game” taunts holding up for you these days?

What a great win for the Wildcats… their first since 1949, which resulted in SBN’s “Sippin’ On Purple” summarizing the festivities thusly:

Ending the 64 year drought

While this was the only game where the B1G school was favored, it’s still a great accomplishment for Coach Fitzgerald and his team to beat a team that was undefeated and highly regarded earlier in the season… you know, before they actually played Alabama, LSU, and aTm.

It was also great to see the Bulldogs struggle against the quick pace and frenetic energy that Northwestern’s offense brings; MSU’s struggles against a mobile quarterback were documented against Manziel, but the lack of “B1G Speed” and some poor decisions by the Bulldogs made for a great day for Evanston’s team.

And that would be the true conference highlight of the day.

Oh... you!!!

Purdue/TBPU

I spent most of the day texting with our B12 correspondent and OkSU fan about the “quality” of this game; he continued to remind me that this was a Purdue team that took Ohio State to overtime. I also informed him that they’d pushed Notre Dame to the limit, but were operating with an interim head coach and had also lost to every team with a pulse (and Minnesota) they’d played. This one was ugly early and often, and will be used by those who love the transitive property as a source of c0nference assessment and self significance (more later).

I’ll be honest, though- I didn’t watch it, and not only because it was relegated to ESPN U (“the Ocho” was busy). This one was over as soon as the team accepted the invite; I’m looking forward to seeing what Coach Hazell can do.

TTUN/South Carolina

This game was expected to be ugly, but the least attractive part of it was the latest “special uniforms” that Dave Brandon/Adidas “honored” the Wolverines with. Again, there’s no reason to mess with one of the most iconic looks in college football, even it if makes me personally nauseous.

Big Blue played much better than they looked, and managed to have a lead late with eleven seconds left in the game. That’s when South Carolina connected a deep pass against double coverage to pull out a five point victory. Coming into the game, Michigan’s pass defense was statistically one of the best in the country; although, it’s difficult to say that this is due to the scheme/talent or if it’s due to people preferring to run against the Wolverines. On Tuesday, it seemed that they were unable to get any pressure without bringing multiple rushers, but they struggled to play the necessary coverage behind that in order to be successful.

Other than “good job, great effort”, Tuesday also saw Denard Robinson “setting” a record for career rushing yards by a quarterback. Here’s the thing, though- Denard hasn’t lined up exclusively as Michigan’s quarterback this season following his injury in the Nebraska game. For the past five games, when he’s been healthy he’s been used as either a wildcat running back, a slot receiver/running threat. That’s not a quarterback; particularly since it’s been well documented that he’s unable to throw these past few games (not that that stopped them at any other point during his career).

Oh, and if you thought I wasn’t going to include this, you don’t know me very well:

Seriously… who’s supposed to block him? The “shove” block from the tackle? The fullback? The pulling guard? Or is he not supposed to make the tackle out of confusion and pity?

The best part isn’t Clowney scooping the ball up like he was picking up a biscuit, or that “All Conference” Tackle Tyler Lewan was on the sidelines with “cramps” most of the day. Nope, the best part is that if you track Smith’s yardage based on where his helmet is during the game, he ends up about negative 15 on the day.

I realize that Michigan played, and lost to, the top three teams in the country this season, but they lost those games by a combined 80-41 (average of 26.7 to 13.7), were outgained in those three games by 1,066 yards to 847 yards (average of 355 yards to 282 yards, and they failed to gain over 300 yards in each game), and lost the turnover battle by 13 to 5 (they committed at least three turnovers in each loss).

Well, there’s also this: 26-21.

Nebraska/Georgia

"Moral Victory Is Mine!"

This is another matchup that looked like a mess on paper but ended up being much closer in reality- the Huskers were in it until the fourth quarter; unfortunately, reinforcing the stereotype that Coach Pelini struggles to make second half adjustments. That being said, they faced a team that might be playing Notre Dame for the title if it weren’t for some atrocious clock management in the SEC championship game… given what everyone said about the game prior to kickoff, this was a valiant effort on the part of the team from Lincoln.

Nebraska’s Blackshirt defense also came into the game among the leaders in pass yardage defense, but the same question remains- is that due to scheme or because people found that it was easier to just run on them? Rex Burkhead had a great game in his final go as a Husker, and at times the “Good Taylor Martinez” even showed his face. There were too many moments, though, where TMart regressed to his “just skipping rocks” style of passing… perhaps next year will be the time we see less of “Opie Taylor” Martinez, huh?

Wisconsin/Stanford

Dealt With?

In the B1Ggest game of them all, this game was a time warp event with offensive schemes that personified Rose Bowls from the 1970s; ironically the last time Stanford had won this event.

After giving up a quick several scores, Wisconsin’s defense did settle down and managed to control a very powerful Stanford offense. The Badgers did struggle against one of the better defenses in the country- the one that managed to go into Eugene and hand the almighty Ducks their only loss of the season and a chance at a national title.

However, the Badgers would come close until a late interception cost them a six point loss. It was a rare mistake for Badger senior Curt Phillips, who managed to energize Wisconsin late in the second quarter with a scamper up the left sideline on his thrice repaired knee.

For a team that struggled early in the year, it was a fine finish against a quality opponent. Yet all the scoreboard and box score will show is that Wisconsin has lost in their last three trips to Pasadena; and the B1G’s final Rose Bowl champion still sports scarlet and gray.

*******

And so, the B1G ends New Year’s Day a dismal 1-4. Including the great “pre-games”- where Minnesota put a scare to Texas Tech, and Sparty upset one of the Little Sisters of the Poor, the conference enters 1.2.13 a combined 2-5 in bowl play.

That record doesn’t tell the whole story- as we mentioned before, a number of schools were playing above their weight class due to the absences of the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes. Consequently, few (including this writer) gave the conference’s team much chance in their games this December/January, which resulted in lots of “moral victories” and “things to build on”. But since when did the B1G become about moral victories?

Which brings us back to the ultimate question- What do “bowls” mean? Outside of the usual things we’ve talked about before- (B1G teams will almost always be playing against a natural home field advantage; these events are money pits for everyone involved outside of the bowl commissions), there are way too many other variables in play to make any sweeping assessments.

Everybody Wins!

We’ve talked about the coaching carousel- the nature of the sport is that a number of coaches accept new opportunities before January and step away from their teams, impacting preparation and the normalcy that teams thrive on. In addition, there are always teams who don’t care- they’re playing because it’s what they do not because it’s something they’re excited about. Southern Cal’s loss to Georgia Tech and West Virginia’s collapse against Syracuse certainly fall in this category- both squads look as they were sleepwalking throughout the game. For that matter, it’s possible that one of the best games of the postseason thus far may have been impacted by this as well- Les Miles commented publicly that he wasn’t satisfied with his team’s bowl assignment; could that lack of investment resulted in the questionable play calling that cost the Tigers the game?

These factors, combined with the “any given Saturday” reality that one team may just match up with another really well makes it difficult to draw any huge conclusions from an exhibition season other than that one team beat another team in a contest on a specific day. And yet, because we need something to talk about to make ourselves feel better about our favorite programs (said the guy who’s writing all of this for similar reasons), we start making logical connections and sweeping generalizations to fill the time period until next August. I still wonder, though- why no loathing for the ACC (who only won their sixth BCS game in 15 years) or the PAC12?

This Week In Penn State- According to Sports Illustrated, the State of Pennsylvania will be filing suit on Wednesday against the NCAA regarding the sanctions meted out against the University in the Jerry Sandusky situation. What makes this even more interesting is that the current Governor who will be bringing this legal action was the Attorney General that many people thought slow played the initial investigation, as he was running for higher office. Now that he’s there, it’s hard to see this as anything other than another political move, particularly since the sanctions were agreed upon by the University and the NCAA, and were seen as a compromise at the time (away from the “death penalty”). Of course, if PSU were not exempt from the open records rules that most other state institutions have to comply to, we might know a bit more about this situation.

Getting Paid- With all the money involved in the bowl sham system, it’s interesting to hear that the NCAA may reveal a plan to for student athlete stipends sometime in the spring. While I’m personally not convinced that this will “fix” the problems that exist (people looking for more will still look for more), it does seem to indicate that there’s an awareness regarding the issue that the NCAA is looking to address, in some semblance.

Coaching Changes- After Black Monday, some teams in the NFL are now looking for some new blood to lead their programs. In addition to all of the retreads, two college coaches have been connected with search processes: Chip Kelly and Bill O’Brien. Both are interesting candidates, Kelly’s uptempo style would be fun to watch transition to the league, while O’Brien’s experience with the Patriots certainly speaks volumes. In addition, both might be looking to leave their programs before things get problematic- restrictions continue for Penn State, and Oregon goes before the NCAA’s COI this spring. Stay tuned.

]]>http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/the-day-that-were-b1g-style.html/feed4Boxing Day With Silver Bullet Pointshttp://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/ohio-state-football/boxing-day-with-silver-bullet-points.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=boxing-day-with-silver-bullet-points
http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/ohio-state-football/boxing-day-with-silver-bullet-points.html#commentsWed, 26 Dec 2012 12:54:35 +0000http://www.thebuckeyebattlecry.com/?p=29164Well, here we are, at the second biggest shopping day of the holiday and fiscal season. It’s kind of sad, really- all those unwanted or mis- purchased gifts being dragged back to the mall, where “Good Will To Men” is certainly in short supply. That being said… how hard is it to follow a list? […]

Well, here we are, at the second biggest shopping day of the holiday and fiscal season. It’s kind of sad, really- all those unwanted or mis- purchased gifts being dragged back to the mall, where “Good Will To Men” is certainly in short supply.

That being said… how hard is it to follow a list? And what part of “bullets” looks like “marbles”… grumble grumble grumble. Given what’s in the theaters beginning yesterday, you’ve got two choices for today’s soundtrack.

Buckeye 411

Perfect Ten- Well, not perfect, but the Buckeyes find themselves at the ten spot in the AP poll following losses to Duke and Kansas. Indiana and Michigan both hold their spots above the Buckeyes, who find themselves the highest rated two loss team in the country.

Great Dane? News Monday was that the Bears had dropped former Buckeye Dane Sanzenbacher, who only amassed 2 catches this season after 20+ at the end of last year. The good news is that he was immediately claimed by the Bengals, so congrats? I’m excited to see if he will be able to make an impact on the playoff bound Cinci squad, or if this will be a short-term assignment.

It’s Capitol One Bowl Week, which is appropriate- the games’ sponsors and “committees” will be the ones making bank over the next two weeks of games. While this might sound like the grumblings of a disgruntled OSU fan lamenting his team’s bowl ban, two things should be noted: 1) I am always appropriately gruntled, and 2) We’ve been talking about this at tBBC for a LONG time.

Just a reminder of ways that “bowl opportunities” are bad ideas for the vast majority of involved institutions- Few of the 70+ institutions will break even, and most will lose money due to required ticket purchases (at higher values than their actual worth- check TiqIQ) including mandatory tickets for the band that will perform at half time. In addition, a number of schools will perform in these exhibitions without their head coaches, all of whom deem the “honor” so prestigious that they’ve already bolted for greener pastures.

Back to the finances, our friend @FightOnTwist has done some extensive research into the “not-for-profit” scam that are the foundations of most bowl events; it was a major aspect of his graduate degree work. He’s also posted a brief summary of his perception over at Rivals Southern Cal site, entitled: The NCAA Failed Its’ Mission A Long Time Ago…. here’s an excerpt:

The BCS is grossly misusing taxpayers’ dollars and violating its status as a non-profit organization which is based on charitable contributions and work. Aside from donating money to political campaigns, the executives of these bowls have reimbursed and floated the cost of numerous items that had nothing to do with providing a non-profit service.

The non-profit value of an entity such as college football could have a large number of positive impacts on society. Drastic changes need to be made to the system to ensure compliance with regulatory procedures as well as to enforcing the spirit of a non-profit organization. These bowls have been given the freedom to operate without the watchful eye of the government and they have abused that freedom on a repeated basis. It has become clear that the organizations and foundations overseeing the non-profit charitable aspects and guidelines have no interest in initiating change within.

If anything, bowl directors and presidents of football schools have increased their salaries and expenses over time. It is, in a sense, tantamount to giving themselves a cut of the profits. This is something that is expressly forbidden among non-profit organizations.

So, in some ways having the Buckeyes out of the “post season” is a bad thing… for one, we have to make up reasons to look forward to watching Fresno State. Wheee. But, in addition to the recruiting advantage that the bowl ban provides Ohio State, there’s a little bit of pride to be found in the realization that, albeit for reasons that are less than ideal, this year the Buckeyes are not participating in this unjust and fiscally illegitimate scheme. But next year, we’re totally going to own it, you guys.

New Christmas Clothes! I always hated trying on freshly unwrapped duds for my folks, knowing that if they didn’t fit I’d have to fight the crowds in the mall in the next day or two; as I’ve mentioned, that’s a less than ideal usage of my valuable “bowl watchin'” time. However, a couple of folks have decided to show off their new gifts over the past day or two, and they’re worth a look. Bowling Green has gone patriotic for their Military Bowl game; Rice has done something similar for their Armed Forces Bowl game. But the “helmet tip” of the week is Virginia Tech, who’ve already decided to go with a matte finish look that’s so popular with the young people these days. But, during practice and prep, they’re wearing the ribbon on their helmets that you see at the right there- commemorating those students and other lost in the shootings on their campus AND in Newtown Connecticut. The game look will be more subdued, but it’s an important reminder of two similarly connected groups of people who still mourn during this holiday season.

]]>http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/ohio-state-football/boxing-day-with-silver-bullet-points.html/feed1The Week That Were: 11.17.12http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/ohio-state-football/the-week-that-were-11-17-12.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-week-that-were-11-17-12
http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/ohio-state-football/the-week-that-were-11-17-12.html#commentsMon, 19 Nov 2012 12:54:35 +0000http://www.thebuckeyebattlecry.com/?p=28079We’re going to do things just a little bit differently this week, given all of the amazing news and events that happened this past weekend. So, this will be part Silver Bullet Points, part Monday Morning Commentary, and the usual chunk of random observations from Saturday’s events in the world of college football. Here’s something […]

In this year’s edition of the Battle For Los Angeles, the upstart UCLA Bruins jumped out to a quick lead and held on to “upset” the Trojans by ten points on a gray day in Pasadena. While the Bruins obviously have been playing much better football this year, you’ve also got to wonder if the trajectories of the programs have now crossed, particularly given some of the issues that continue to swirl at Southern Cal.

As the team that was picked by many to contend for the national title, the frustration for many SC fans has been swirling since the loss to what we now know is a pretty good Stanford team. That game highlighted the Trojans’ issues with depth; injuries since then have continued to create problems and have certainly didn’t help in their back to back losses to Arizona and Oregon. The defeat by the Ducks made things even more problematic, since SC’s defense was a point of strength for them under current coordinator Monte Kiffin; their being gashed turned up the heat on the current coaching administration. And now, to lose to “little brother” has many wondering if it’s not time to make a change.

In addition, earlier this week Tennessee was dinged for recruiting issues that occurred under Kiffin’s one year tenure in Knoxville- issues that involved Chip Kelly’s favorite videographer, Willie Lyles. Given the length of the investigation into Oregon’s program and this new decision at UT involving Lyles, you’ve got to think that there’s more than a few million good reasons for Kelly to take the Pete Carroll route and jump to the NFL ASAP.

What does this mean for Kiffin? At this time, it’s difficult to say, but losing Matt Barkley for the matchup against Notre Dame this weekend, combined with the continuing scholarship losses for the next couple of years would certainly be reason to wonder how warm his office chair will be getting this winter.

Sentient?

Interestingly enough, the other two programs involved in “affair du Lyles” also had difficult weekends. Derek Dooley’s Volunteers lost to cross-state foe Vanderbilt, and it wasn’t even close. The win ensures that UT will have a losing season for the third time in as many years, and was only the second victory for the Commodores in 35 years. Following the game, the inevitable happened… Dooley was fired, effective immediately. If you’re an Ohio State fan, you’ve got to wonder if this might have an impact on current recruits looking at both programs… Vonn Bell is the name that pops up, but there may be others in the 2014 class. This year’s season ending clash between the Vols and ‘Kats will feature both coaches in either interim or lame duck status… it’s going to be a fun coaching carousel for the SEC this season.

Lyle’s third “partner” in all of this felt the sting of their first loss on Saturday, at home, to a Stanford team that should be in the conversation about the top programs in the nation. Remember, they’re a botched call from extending overtime in South Bend and possibly ending the Irish Nightmare that we are currently facing. I was most impressed with The Cardinal’s defense on Saturday- disciplined, aggressive, and never seemed to give up the big play to an offense that most often looks like throwing kerosene on a bonfire… one blink, and it’s over. Not that I’m speaking from experience or anything. Ahem.

Does Nike gear wick away tears?

The loss can easily be attributed to a lot of things- Oregon being too confident, and this being the Duck’s annual brain fart game; Questionable officiating, A “trap” game, with the resurgent Beavers looming Thanksgiving week… But all of these would not do a service to the great work that the coaches at Stanford, starting with Jim Harbaugh, have done in building a program that can certainly play with anyone in the country. It’s also why I think that Alabama, if given the usual bowl prep to face Oregon, would beat them- I believe that the Tide’s defense is more athletic and much more disruptive than Stanford’s… and the template we’ve seen in the Ducks’ losses over the past four years is now pretty well known. You just need to have the horses to pull it off; Stanford did on Saturday, and now control their PAC12 destiny. They’ll need to beat UCLA twice in two weeks to do so, but doing so may have the Oregon Ducks on the outside of the BCS championship game AND the automatic Rose Bowl berth… along with USC. It’s been that kind of year.

Oh, and on Saturday Northwestern, Stanford, and Vanderbilt all won. Nerds, y’all.

Commentary: Polls and Playoffs

Much of Buckeye Nation was freaked out on Sunday when the AP rankings came out and still had the undefeated Ohio State team ranked behind two teams with losses, both from the Southeast Conference. Our friend Grant Edgell took a look back at the last ten seasons, and at no time was an undefeated team from a power conference ranked behind one loss teams this late in the season. The Dispatch and the Plain Dealer will have articles about the “situation” on Monday, and Lori Schmidt pointed out that for every voter that has the Buckeyes second, there are others who have them lower than fifth.

Here’s my take: I. Don’t. Care.

Never A Doubt

Two reasons for this, before you start going to your local torch and pitchfork emporium. First- It’s Game Week. There’s one goal this week for Ohio State, and it’s within their control. There’s nothing that they can do about voters or media members or computers… just win the game, THE GAME, and worry about where the chips will fall after that all settles.

That’s been the plan for Ohio State all season, and shouldn’t change just because people are now getting their knickers in a knot. Plus, it’s not like any Buckeye will ever need a reason to get excited and play with just a little more heart this Saturday… and all this talk about rankings and such might actually be a distraction. So forget it. Focus on the job at hand- Beat Mich1gAAn.

Second reason that I’m not getting all in a tizzy about this story- it doesn’t matter. Unfortunately for those of you who enjoy brevity, there are subpoints here- It doesn’t matter because the University and the NCAA chose to keep Ohio State on the sidelines this postseason… right or wrong, without a wrinkle in the space/time continuum or a presidential edict, it ain’t changing. It also doesn’t matter because we’re still dealing with an imperfect popularity contest- always has been that way and always will be.

These types of things are subjective in nature, and short of a tournament with multi-game series at neutral sites, we’ll never really be able to tell. This weekend is a perfect example: Just as Oregon and KSU had off nights, it’s quite possible to have the same matchup problems or hiccups in a “one and done” championship game. These types of things only prove who’s the best on a given night; it may be the team that’s best overall, but it might not be.

Finally, this doesn’t matter because it shouldn’t change our pride and passion for the Buckeyes. We’ve talked about this before- other than bragging rights for fans and “lifetime moments” for the players, there’s not really much gained for a “championship”. Well, unless you’re an athletic department who’ll make a shirt for just about anything- that can make things pretty lucrative. Recruits will go to great programs no matter their final rankings (how else do you explain Notre Dame?), and fans and booster will still support their schools- sometimes even more robustly when they’ve felt “slighted”.

So, allow me to conclude by paraphrasing scripture- If you do well, will you not be accepted? And you would be wise to do well- evil is crouching at your door, and you must master it. Beat Mich1gAAn.

—

Whooooo!!!!

We talked about this already, but Kansas State bombed enormously against Baylor; you can bet there were plenty of Honor Code Violations going on Saturday Night in Waco. I have a ton of respect for what Bill Snyder is doing in Manhattan, and this was only strengthened by his post game comments… professional, responsible, gracious, forthright. The Wildcats are in good hands, even if portions of their fanbase are more than likely chemically imbalanced. In the best of ways, of course.

A coach I get a kick out of that is the anti-Snyder is Les Miles, whose LSU Tigers were able to overcome both Old Miss and their own press clippings… watching the game was fascinating, as the crack staff at CBSEC continued to tout the Tigers as candidates for the national title consideration as they trailed for much of the game. Miles’ work after the game, though, was quite possibly one of the most… uh… interesting press conferences that I’d ever seen; I’ve never witnessed such range of emotion as he wandered through the good and bad of a very exciting victory of his team. Seriously, take a second or three to watch the whole thing and then imagine your company president choosing to respond this way at the next corporate gathering.

LSU’s win over Old Miss was anchored by an amazing punt return from Odell Beckham Jr., which wins both our “play of the week” and “hit of the week” award- check out the block at the beginning that clears two Rebel defenders:

Miles’ squad was one of only three games in the mighty S!E!C! to be intra-conference… other “powerful” matchups from the week included Kentucky beating Samford, Alabama rolling Western Carolina, Florida handling Jacksonville State, and other amazing wastes of season ticket money. Kudos to Auburn for finally winning; shame and blame to Missouri for dropping their game against Syracuse.

In a bit of a preview for The Game, things are certainly getting interesting up north- Denard has finally moved to tailback and ended the fairy tale that he was a quarterback, and Devan Gardner has overcome his debilitating back injury to develop into a solid quarterback. I’m most impressed with the defensive effort that TTUN has put up recently, although this week it was against Iowa, where Kirk Ferentz has been stealing money for about three years now. They’ll be without running back Fitz Toussaint this coming Saturday, though… watch this if you really want to see why. It’s not pretty.

As you’re reading this, I’m on a plane headed back to the motherland for a week of feasting and being Thankful. As you’re reading this, there’s probably a great chance that Maryland has joined the B1G, and Rutgers is not far behind. Yup, we’re doing that again.

There are a lot of reasons that these are dumb moves- lack of athletic prestige for both of these programs, yet another need to entrust scheduling and conference naming to the people who threatened to move The Game and gave us “Leaders and Legends”… but the fact of the matter is that this has been inevitable for a while.

Expanding The Footprint

Both programs need funding to survive- they are in the “have not” category, subsidized by state budgets in states that are looking for places to make cuts. As Vico suggests (read that article… as always, it’s great), this deal will effectively trade state funding for BTN revenue sharing. It also helps the conference fight the “landlocked midwestern” stereotype, particularly in relation to two huge television markets: NY/NJ and Baltimore/DC.

In addition to the research possibilities that this move will open up (and the B1G is as much about academics as it is athletics) the expansion into the NY/NJ market alone will help strengthen the conference’s ability to grow further. As other conferences disband or shift, wouldn’t you want to be in a grouping that had a solid footing in the largest media market in the country? And this week’s agreement between YES (Yankees Network) and Fox (major stakeholders in the BTN) certainly didn’t hurt the powers that be who were trying to make this move.

It may also have some interesting ripples- if it destabilizes the ACC, the FU/Clemson move that we heard about all summer might finally come to pass. Notre Dame could find themselves on the outside again, joining a conference that’s on the verge of another set of exoduses. Other ACC schools might head to the B1G as well- I’ve heard Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Virginia, Duke all mentioned… as well as bigger fish on the western border of the conference.

We’re headed for the 2014 playoff model, consolidating power and money in ways that will keep the machine rolling. I’m coming to learn to live with that, since I really don’t have a choice… given all of this as well as the criticism that college sports is getting regarding the economic issues for players and smaller programs, perhaps once this all settles we can start talking about decoupling athletic programs from Universities so both can honestly thrive: semi-professional sports and academic institutions. A guy can dream, can’t he?

Since we’re welcoming our new turtle-y overlords, it’s time to talk uniform updates! Here’s the “Black Ops” look that the Terps wore against Florida State. For a program that wants to be the “Oregon Of The East”, they certainly have the “bunches of goofy uniforms” thing down to a science. Maryland doesn’t win this week’s “Fashion Nightmare” award, though… that honor goes to the folks at Virginia Tech, who decided for some crazy reason to have Warner Brothers’ Henry the Chicken Hawk as their helmet logo for this past weekend. Brave.

Also, by the time you’ve read this far, Ohio State has more than likely “announced” their rivalry gear for The Game this year… we got a look earlier, and I know that the retail vendors in Columbus have the tshirts and sweatshirts. We’ll have more on this later, but keep an eye on our friends at the Buckeye Room for the best updates on fan apparel.

Another program that likes to mix and match their gameday gear is peaking at just the right time- T Boone Pickens University stomped Texas Tech on Saturday and heads into the Bedlam game with Oklahoma on a nice streak. OU isn’t doing so poorly offensively as well, managing to beat West Virginia y one point after the Mountaineers managed over 700 yards of offense. If TBPU can get one or two defensive stops, they’ve got what they need offensively to beat the Sooners.

Oh, and Notre Dame won. Wheee. They’re undefeated, and will play Southern Cal next weekend, minus the Trojan’s senior QB. Wheee. Personally, I’m hoping that the Mayans were right, should Notre Dame end up in the MNC game. I’m still of the mindset that Oregon/Alabama would be the “best matchup”… but, as I said before, it really doesn’t matter.

Commentary- Kids Today

The news on Sunday from Minnesota involved Gopher wide receiver A.J. Barker quitting the team, in spite of being the team’s leading offensive weapon. In a lengthy and open letter that was posted on the internet, Barker claims that his decision to quit and transfer was based on his frustration with the way he was treated by Coach Jerry Kill, alleging emotional abuse and lies from the coach all season long. Barker has been recovering from an ankle injury recently.

In both cases, I wish nothing but the best for the young men in question and corrections made within both programs should adjustments or disciplinary action be necessary. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect, particularly when they are sacrificing so much of their lives to participate in college sports.

That being said, two things came to my mind as I read these two accounts. The first is the way that the internet has flattened the communication chain- in the past, player/coach issues would be handled “in house”; for better and for worse. Now, with the access that everyone has to blogging and social media sites, it’s easy to get an account out to the public- and also difficult to get it back once it’s been released.

I’m not, under any circumstances, blaming these two young men for having “bad attitudes”- instead, I’m pointing out how challenging coaching is these days. We’ve all heard stories about players who were told they were the greatest from the moment they stepped onto the court or field; heck, some of us might have our favorite programs on probation because of these types of wunderkinds. But to find a way to get these people to achieve and develop into something bigger than themselves… and to do so in the context of a team sport, is pretty challenging.

—

It’s Thanksgiving week, and we’ll have some special things coming up for you as we get closer and closer to The Game. It’s the week of Rivalries across the country; the Shillelagh, the Oaken Bucket, the Commander In Chief Trophy, Paul Bunyan’s Axe, Bedlam… all happen this week, for which we are thankful.

This year’s favorite high school tradition is once again a JV affair, since Kirkwood finds themselves in the Missouri State Championship again. I’ll be in St. Louis, so may head over to the Dome to watch them play as well as catching Ohio State commit Ezekiel Elliott as the Bombers seek a state title.

But today we close with a tribute to someone that my wife is very thankful for, and a person who’s had a deep impact on college sports- particularly football. From this week’s BTN broadcast, here’s Dr. Tom Osborne’s last “Tunnel Walk” with the Huskers:

]]>http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/ohio-state-football/the-week-that-were-11-17-12.html/feed2College Football's Earthquake- Chip Kelly and Jim Tresselhttp://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/ohio-state-football/college-footballs-earthquake-chip-kelly-and-jim-tressel.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=college-footballs-earthquake-chip-kelly-and-jim-tressel
http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/ohio-state-football/college-footballs-earthquake-chip-kelly-and-jim-tressel.html#commentsWed, 06 Jul 2011 14:08:21 +0000http://www.thebuckeyebattlecry.com/?p=15997 Can you imagine being in the stands of Candlestick Park on that fateful day in October, 1989? I remember watching the World Series and seeing the picture go out. I remember the change in the quality of the audio as Al Michaels remained calm and tried to explain what was happening to the rest […]

Can you imagine being in the stands of Candlestick Park on that fateful day in October, 1989? I remember watching the World Series and seeing the picture go out. I remember the change in the quality of the audio as Al Michaels remained calm and tried to explain what was happening to the rest of the world. The World Series was delayed due to a term we call force majeure.

One thing I know was that the reading on the Richter Scale was less than 10.1. Any college football fan is scratching his head while just reading that number. Does it sound familiar? Well it should. Two of the top programs face the NCAA Committee on Infractions because of violations of NCAA’s “10.1 Violation”. Loosely translated, this is when a college program fails to notify its compliance office when the coach of the program suspects a violation of NCAA laws.

Call this College Football’s “earthquake”. The head coaches of The Ohio State University and University of Oregon are on the way to see the “dean” so to speak because they either committed a violation that needed to be reported or failed to report a violation, which itself is a violation. Now let’s take a peek at the cast of “Liar Liar 2″.

Charles “Chip” Kelly just completed his second year at the University of Oregon; the former offensive coordinator was elevated to the position of head coach following the retirement of Mike Bellotti after the 2008 season.

Despite a rocky season debut against Boise State, the Ducks under Kelly’s command cruised to a Pac 10 title and appearance in the Rose Bowl. Led by freshman star LaMichael James, the Ducks quacked through the season, despite losing game 1, and losing Heisman candidate LaGarrett Blount to disciplinary reasons. Kelly received his first of two consecutive Pac 10 Coach of the Year awards. Little did Phil Knight (Nike CEO and huge Ducks supporter) and the rest of the “Duck Nation” know that Chip was hiding a little secret.

Living in a land of "make believe"?

Ironically, Kelly and his Ducks faced Jim “The Vest” Tressel and the mighty Ohio State Buckeyes, the winners of the Big 10 in the 2010 Rose Bowl. Led by Jeannette, Pennsylvania’s “man-child” quarterback Terrelle Pryor, the Buckeyes came in to the game hot off their 8th win over arch-rival Michigan in 9 tries. With vest on body, Tressel’s “Bucks” executed a flawless offensive assault and clipped the wings of the Ducks in that game. Only a soothsayer could predict what was going to take place in Columbus within the coming months.

All foreshadowing aside, we know what both head coaches did. In case you don’t, here’s the Cliff’s Notes version. Tressel did not notify his compliance office after receiving information his players may have used their celebrity to receive free tattoos and sold memorabilia for cash. Kelly authorized the payment of $25,000 to Willie Lyles, a so called “recruiting” service owner, for professional services. In the eyes of some, Lyles was a high school football player “pimp”, who steered players to Oregon. Then Kelly asked that scouting reports be created to create a paper trail to disguise the real nature of the relationship.

Whose egregious acts are worse? Is the ugly in the eye of the other beholder? Will the penalties fit the crime? What’s next?

All of the above are great questions. Some can be answered. Some cannot.

Tressel perjured himself from the ethical and credible persona Buckeye players and fans came to endear. His actions were the polar opposite from what Buckeye Nation came to know as the norm.

Kelly stained the reputation of a program that has the undying support of the biggest merchandising name in professional sports, Nike. I think if this becomes an episode of Celebrity Death Match, we will see our first draw.

In Columbus, its obvious how many tOSU can withstand, a grand total of one, even if it’s the same eye being punched. The clock is ticking for Kelly as the investigation continues. Did this practice of using a “recruiting service” originate after Kelly’s coronation or his he simply a “Chip” off the old block of the previous regime?

]]>http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/ohio-state-football/college-footballs-earthquake-chip-kelly-and-jim-tressel.html/feed1Oregon, Chip Kelly, and Will Lyles: Duck and Cover-up?http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/oregon-chip-kelly-and-will-lyles-duck-and-cover-up.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=oregon-chip-kelly-and-will-lyles-duck-and-cover-up
http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/oregon-chip-kelly-and-will-lyles-duck-and-cover-up.html#commentsSat, 02 Jul 2011 05:09:22 +0000http://www.thebuckeyebattlecry.com/?p=15954So I’m “on assignment” here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, trying to get away from all the scandal and stuff that we’ve been covering so far this off-season. Little did I know that I was walking into Mordor… Sorry ’bout that, Duck fans. Following their story that Ohio State was working with the NCAA regarding […]

So I’m “on assignment” here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, trying to get away from all the scandal and stuff that we’ve been covering so far this off-season. Little did I know that I was walking into Mordor… Sorry ’bout that, Duck fans.

Following their story that Ohio State was working with the NCAA regarding Jim Tressel’s need for a Gmail account, the guys at Yahoo said that they were working on two other stories this summer… one a “7” and one a “10” (with OSU being an 8). So, we knew the “summer of love” would continue… and wow, has it delivered.

Yahoo today released the results of their “wide-ranging, multi-day interview” with the man at the center of the storm, “Scouting Guru” Will Lyles. Their documentation is pretty concerning if you love your ducks, and it’s joined by several other media outlets.

(Although, it should be noted that ESPN was late to cover this story- Please try to harness your surprise.)

The article starts with a pretty damning charge, and holds that Oregon coach Chip Kelly’s relationship with Lyles was more than just someone who provided scouting services. Rather, Kelly seemed to be paying Lyles to broker relationships and conversations with student athletes, particularly those in Texas-

Embattled scouting service owner Will Lyles told Yahoo! Sports that University of Oregon coach Chip Kelly personally approved a controversial $25,000 fee that sparked an ongoing NCAA investigation and was in constant contact as Lyles provided the Ducks with recruiting assistance that may have violated NCAA rules.

In a wide-ranging, multi-day interview, Lyles said Kelly “scrambled” in late February and asked Lyles to submit retroactive player profiles to justify the $25,000 payment to his company, just days before the transaction was revealed in a March 3 Yahoo! Sports report.

(Lyles) now says Oregon did not pay him for his work as a traditional scout, but for his influence with top recruits and their families and his ability to usher prospects through the signing and eligibility process. That dual role as mentor to prospects and paid contractor to Oregon is believed to be a focus of the NCAA probe.

The article goes on to say that assistant director of football operations at Oregon, Josh Gibson, may also have been involved in ways that are concerning for the NCAA.

According to Lyles, both Gibson and Lyles were instrumental in making sure that 2010 recruit Lache Seastrunk was able to petition to have his grandmother co-sign his letter of intent (rather than his mother, who was against Lache attending The University of Oregon). Once this process was completed, Kelly told Lyles to bill him equal to the best paying scouting service, and Lyles did to the tune of $25,000. Kelly then approved this payment.

Yahoo answers the question that we had earlier about the quality of the “Scouting Package” received by Oregon and released to the media as a part of various inquiries. In it were listed a number of recruits who had already attended other Universities, and were a part of the 2009 recruiting class. This was due to the following, according to the article-

The mood began to change on Feb. 17 when Lyles said Kelly and assistant coach Gibson called him and expressed concern about the lack of printed scouting material he had provided to the school. Lyles said they requested printed reports on Class of 2011 prep prospects, ones that had already signed letters of intent, as soon as possible. Lyles’ phone records show a 12-minute call from Kelly and an eight-minute call from Gibson that day.

“It was like, ‘Hey Will, we need to get some player evaluations and send it as soon as you can,’” Lyles said. “I didn’t really know why, but they were like, ‘Get everything you have and turn it in.’ They were on my ass about it.

“So I just threw it together.”

Lyles said he took old profiles off a computer, copied some information from elsewhere and tried to accumulate a last-minute recruiting package. He said he never bothered to consider the quality because he felt Oregon didn’t care, they just needed to show something, he assumed, to some bean counter in Eugene.

On Feb. 22 he sent in his “2010 National High School Evaluation Booklet” which featured 140 player profiles, 133 of them from Texas. Almost all the players were from the Class of 2009 and had already chosen colleges.

“One of the kids is dead,” Lyles said. “I didn’t know he was dead.”

Lyles believes Oregon was trying to retroactively comply with the rules. He says in mid-February the football staff became aware of a pending Yahoo! Sports investigation into its payment to Lyles and the Dallas-based scouting service New Level Athletics.

“They were covering their tracks,” Lyles said. “They were covering their asses. They were scrambling.”

Lyles was also instrumental in very non-traditional ways with several other college prospects. First, he assisted Jeff Wood at receiving tutoring at Sylvan at the request of (and payment by) Jeff’s father. Lyles says he received $4k for this; it is unclear what impact this had on Wood’s decision to attend The University of Texas, although the article says there was no connection.

Lyles was also connected to other Oregon recruits, in addition to Seastrunk. Defensive Back Marcus Davis contacted Lyles when he was looking to transfer from the University of Texas; he eventually transferred to Oregon for a brief stay. In the fall of 2009, Lyles transported Seastrunk, eventual Duck Dontae Williams (who has since tranferred), Auburn signee Trovon Reed and another recruit to Eugene for an official visit which included that season’s USC game.

Most famously, Lyles worked with current Duck running back and Heisman candidate LaMichael James to ensure that he’d be eligible for college, and advised a transfer that would excuse him from mandatory Texas State testing. Lyles says that Chip Kelly (at that time, Oregon’s offensive coordinator) supported this idea.

A card. How thoughtful.

In fact, it was Lyles’ relationship to James that led to the connection to Kelly; as Lyles was the one that referred James to the Ducks staff based on their offense and his talents.

Lyles served as Kelly’s unofficial connection to the Houston Area, including driving him and arranging meetings with various coaches.

According to Yahoo, Kelly and other Duck coaches were grateful for his assistance in connecting students athletes with the University, and Lyles didn’t think there were any concerns regarding his relationship with them. The NCAA felt otherwise, and met with Lyles for six hours earlier this year.

Lyles’ relationship with Seastrunk was also significant, to the point where Lyles was staying at Seastrunk’s house overnight on numerous occasions during the past year. Seastrunk was initially headed to Southern Cal, according to Lyles, but decided to commit to Oregon once Pete Carroll left for the NFL. However, this required some maneuvering to get around Seastrunk’s mother’s opposition; that led to the arrangement with his grandmother mentioned earlier.

Yahoo outlines in great detail how this came to be, and the level of involvement from the Oregon staff (although only a few of the documented conversations from that time- much was done via phone). It is of note that Seastrunk’s mother was not aware that any of this had occurred.

The Oregonian has a great timeline of contact between Lyles and Kelly, including commentary regarding what else was happening in the NCAA and Oregon Football program at the time. It’s well worth scrolling through, and very interesting.

Other schools who are mentioned in Yahoo’s report- Cal and LSU have both paid Lyles for his information on student athletes, and it has been speculated for a while that the NCAA might also be looking into Lyles’ relationship to LSU’s Patrick Patterson. It should be noted that LSU always had very specific things they wanted from Lyles, much more than Oregon and Cal requested.

The very high-profile head coach of a very high-profile program — one that played in the national championship game last January and has largely been portrayed as a feel-good story — has been caught in writing acknowledging his relationship with a guy who manipulated a player’s graduation plans and another’s guardianship status, both to the benefit of Oregon. It’s abundantly clear by now that he signed off on a $25,000 payment to a guy that had no business getting a dime from the school.

Oregon — with the generous help of Nike and Phil Knight — has spent more than a decade carefully crafting its aura as the cool school with the slick uniforms and the flashy offense. Kelly was the charismatic mastermind that took the program from good to great. Both are suddenly taking on a more dubious image. How long until Kelly’s superiors admit this isn’t “the right way?”

Lyles also realizes now that his relationship with Kelly and Oregon may not have been healthy for either side-

While he said he never thought he was acting improperly, he understands lines may have been crossed. Whether any NCAA rules were broken that could affect Oregon hardly matters to him. Lyles has lost his business and reputation.

“But those aren’t my rules,” Lyles said. “Those are the NCAA’s rules. Those are Oregon’s rules.”

Lyles said his chief regret is not studying the NCAA bylaws to avoid mistakes that created this scandal. That and trusting that Oregon was chiefly interested in his role as a talent scout, not a recruiting facilitator.

“I felt like my throat was cut and I was left to bleed to death. I felt that there would be some sense of loyalty to me, because I felt I provided a great [recruiting] service. In retrospect, it might have never been about the service.”

To be fair, we should give Will Lyles’ statements the same amount of credibility we gave to Ed Rife and “Ellis”- there are reasons to be suspicious regarding his willingness to come forward.

And again, we Buckeye fans are in no position to throw any rocks and so forth, but you’ve got to wonder how this will all fall out.

Jason will be bringing a closer comparison between Jim Tressel and Chip Kelly later this week, but an quick comparison would be that one coach lied to cover up potential violations by his players, the other (in the words of our friends at ATO) “worked to cover-up NCAA violations committed by the institution itself.” And that gets doubled if Kelly signed a compliance document at any time as well.